Standing outside the Toronto Marlies locker room on his eighth consecutive day off, Mason Marchment had a confession to make: While his teammates and head coach complain about their playoff schedule, and the 11 days off they have between rounds, Marchment is relieved.

He needed this. The two rounds that preceded against the Utica Comets and the Syracuse Crunch took their toll. On a team filled with smaller, skilled forwards, Marchment is a big, mean anomaly.

“I don’t know about everyone else but I’ve definitely got some bumps and bruises so it’s nice to recover,” he said. “I’m tired.”

A look up and down the Marlies’ stat sheet wouldn’t show Marchment as the playoff hero. His three points in nine games place him 12th on the team in scoring.

But a survey of Marchment’s teammates, coach, and key moments in each game suggests he has been exactly what the Marlies lack, and a presence his opponents are...